Happy 5th Birthday!

Today was Elia's 5th birthday party with her friends from school.  Enjoy!

 See the cute treasure chests?  Take a good look, because these blessed boxes where a nightmare to assemble, and I'll never touch another one again!  Lesson learned.  But she loved them.

 Mommy thought purchasing a Pinata online was a great idea.  Yeah, no.  It was a cardboard box, and very sturdy!!! You'll see in a few pictures below what I mean.

 Elia and her next door neighbor friend, Marin.  Elia believes Marin is just about the best thing our new city has to offer!  She is the sweetest little girl, and very loving toward Elia.

 Mommy trying to take pre-party pictures before everything looks messy!

 And there were hats. 

 My Pinterest-inspired fruit kabobs!  They were a major hit with the kiddos.

 Jake and the Neverland Pirates is a staple at our home.  She was so impressed her cake matched her birthday theme!!!

 Let there be cake!

 What you don't see in this picture is every adult fanning the flies away!  It was a full-time job.

 I would love to know what her wish was!!!

This clearly is her favorite part!

  

 This is Allison and Maddie...my helpers during the party! 

 Ok, so everyone took a wack at this thing.  Many times...

 Alas, Daddy had to come to the rescue and end the saga.

 Everyone searched for their pirate loot.  I even spied a few gold doubloons!

 The heat has now set in, the party is wrapping up, and we snap one last picture to remember the day.

 My BFF Melany, her kiddos, Marin, and the Tellez trio headed to lunch on the square. 

 

 There's always one at every party. 

 You can't be that close to Beth Marie's and not stop in for a bit of ice cream. 

Perfect ending to a pretty swell day. 

Twas a long day, but this mommy can look back and say, "Yo ho, way to go!"

Happy Birthday, our precious little one.